This can't be happening at Macdonald Hall!
April 4, 2016 7:46 AM Subscribe
If you experienced children’s pop culture in the ‘80s and ‘90s, the nostalgia cycle has caught up with you, and the entertainment industry has accelerated the process of harvesting even your faintest memories. The sheer volume of revivals means that at some point a story small and forgotten enough to feel like a personal memory will be unearthed and dragged into the sunlight. The sudden reappearance of a once-loved TV show/book/slice of intellectual property forces you, the viewer, into an existential anxiety. To merely be the target of this deluge of content is a weird sensation. To be one of the creators—dusting off past work, bringing old versions of yourself into a new world and hoping to find the public’s affection—must be infinitely more bewildering.
I met Gordon Korman at a kid's writing workshop in the 80s!! He signed my copy of Don't Care High! Seriously, he was mobbed by all the kids for autographs after his speech.
Man, I need to find copies of I Want to Go Home and No Coins, Please for my kids. And for me. Because now I NEED to reread them.
posted by joelhunt at 7:57 AM on April 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
Man, I need to find copies of I Want to Go Home and No Coins, Please for my kids. And for me. Because now I NEED to reread them.
posted by joelhunt at 7:57 AM on April 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
I'd watch rabid Trump supporter Alex P. Keaton calling his father a lightweight and loser and his mom a disgusting pig....
posted by Lyme Drop at 8:01 AM on April 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Lyme Drop at 8:01 AM on April 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
Actually an awesome updated version of Family Ties would be neo-liberal Hillary-voter parents vs an extremely woke son.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:03 AM on April 4, 2016 [14 favorites]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:03 AM on April 4, 2016 [14 favorites]
Because I live in a college town, I sometimes read Yik Yak for fun and oh wow, the fact these kids are nostalgic about Rugrats and Spongebob immediately makes me feel super old so then I'm like why did I fucking download the Yik Yak app.
posted by Kitteh at 8:05 AM on April 4, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 8:05 AM on April 4, 2016 [8 favorites]
So, does this mean there's finally a market for all my Garfield crapmemorabilia?
posted by Thorzdad at 8:10 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Thorzdad at 8:10 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I mean I guess I understand the idea that Gordon Korman is fifty-two. The math works. It's just emotionally impossible for me to accept that this kid who was writing my favorite novels when he was 14-25 is that old now. Here's my Gordon Korman story.
The last GK novel I read was Losing Joe's Place, and then I started ninth grade. I missed his magnum opus No More Dead Dogs. His recent work is YA, of the type that's frankly difficult not to parody.
Essential texts:
Go Jump in The Pool
The War with Mr. Wizzle
No Coins, Please
I Want to Go Home
No More Dead Dogs
Further Exploration:
This Can't Be Happening at McDonald Hall!
Beware the Fish
Don't Care High
A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag
Son of Interflux
The Zucchini Warriors
Who Is Bugs Potter?
For Fans Only:
Our Man Weston
Lights! Camera! Disaster!
Bugs Potter LIVE at Nickaninny
posted by infinitewindow at 8:11 AM on April 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
The last GK novel I read was Losing Joe's Place, and then I started ninth grade. I missed his magnum opus No More Dead Dogs. His recent work is YA, of the type that's frankly difficult not to parody.
Essential texts:
Go Jump in The Pool
The War with Mr. Wizzle
No Coins, Please
I Want to Go Home
No More Dead Dogs
Further Exploration:
This Can't Be Happening at McDonald Hall!
Beware the Fish
Don't Care High
A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag
Son of Interflux
The Zucchini Warriors
Who Is Bugs Potter?
For Fans Only:
Our Man Weston
Lights! Camera! Disaster!
Bugs Potter LIVE at Nickaninny
posted by infinitewindow at 8:11 AM on April 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
One of the things I miss about reading books as a child is having no awareness (or even interest) about when the books were written, or the time period they were set in. I read hundreds of books as a kid that were written in the 50s, 60s, and sometimes earlier... with no realization at all they weren't supposed to be contemporary to me. I read all the Gordon Korman books that were available in junior high, and this article is a revelation to me... some of them were written in the seventies?!?!
Seconding the awesomeness of No Coins, Please. I had a personal fondness for Our Man Weston as well.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 8:12 AM on April 4, 2016 [10 favorites]
Seconding the awesomeness of No Coins, Please. I had a personal fondness for Our Man Weston as well.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 8:12 AM on April 4, 2016 [10 favorites]
It's just emotionally impossible for me to accept that this kid who was writing my favorite novels when he was 14-25 is that old now.
I met him at a book signing a few years ago, and had pretty much exactly the same reaction.
(Also, A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag is his masterpiece, at least from the earlier years. I admit I have not kept up with his more recent work.)
posted by Shmuel510 at 8:17 AM on April 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
I met him at a book signing a few years ago, and had pretty much exactly the same reaction.
(Also, A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag is his masterpiece, at least from the earlier years. I admit I have not kept up with his more recent work.)
posted by Shmuel510 at 8:17 AM on April 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Nothing, it seems, is in danger of being lost to the sands of time.
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:19 AM on April 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:19 AM on April 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
In other "you are old" news, Beverly Cleary is turning 100.
posted by ChuraChura at 8:21 AM on April 4, 2016 [27 favorites]
posted by ChuraChura at 8:21 AM on April 4, 2016 [27 favorites]
Oh man, Bugs Potter Live at Nickaninny was a masterpiece, in its own way, and sadly was one of the thousands of books I had to leave behind when I emigrated. I still have Don't Care High and Son of Interflux, somehow.
...I may need to find copies of all the ones I'm missing so I can reread them.
posted by joannemerriam at 8:24 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
...I may need to find copies of all the ones I'm missing so I can reread them.
posted by joannemerriam at 8:24 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Not going to lie, every day when I look at the blue I fear I will see Beverly Cleary's obituary. Seriously. Every day.
Great link, thanks for posting.
posted by apparently at 8:27 AM on April 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Great link, thanks for posting.
posted by apparently at 8:27 AM on April 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Watching the revival of "Full House" has been a very, very strange experience.
posted by Melismata at 8:29 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Melismata at 8:29 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
One of the things I miss about reading books as a child is having no awareness (or even interest) about when the books were written, or the time period they were set in.
That's interesting, because I always had that awareness but without a single shred of knowledge to put it in context. I remember first listening to records with popular hits of what I'd later learn was the 50s, in the early 80s. I had no idea when they were made, but I knew that they didn't belong in this day and age. Now I can say it was because of a combination of the general style (trumpets, harmony, lack of synths) and the thin, primitive production, but as a kid i just knew they were ... alien. I had a similar reaction when watching TV re-runs at that age (lots of 70s shows full of disco set in the urban U.S. and me a small-town Canadian) and reading Trixie Belden/Hardy Boys/Three Investigator books.
I remember being fascinated with the idea of a time that no longer was, but unable to really understand what that meant; things were off, but I often didn't know how. Some of it might have been created five years prior and some of it fifty, but for me, "old" meant "not now", so the 40s and the 70s were all the same--modern but not.
I wonder how other kids experienced this.
posted by Palindromedary at 8:31 AM on April 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
That's interesting, because I always had that awareness but without a single shred of knowledge to put it in context. I remember first listening to records with popular hits of what I'd later learn was the 50s, in the early 80s. I had no idea when they were made, but I knew that they didn't belong in this day and age. Now I can say it was because of a combination of the general style (trumpets, harmony, lack of synths) and the thin, primitive production, but as a kid i just knew they were ... alien. I had a similar reaction when watching TV re-runs at that age (lots of 70s shows full of disco set in the urban U.S. and me a small-town Canadian) and reading Trixie Belden/Hardy Boys/Three Investigator books.
I remember being fascinated with the idea of a time that no longer was, but unable to really understand what that meant; things were off, but I often didn't know how. Some of it might have been created five years prior and some of it fifty, but for me, "old" meant "not now", so the 40s and the 70s were all the same--modern but not.
I wonder how other kids experienced this.
posted by Palindromedary at 8:31 AM on April 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
In other "you are old" news, Beverly Cleary is turning 100.
Granted, at nearly 39 years old, I'm not as young as I used to be. But Beverly Cleary has been over 60 for as long as I've been alive, so I think the "you are old" ball is way more in her court.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:33 AM on April 4, 2016 [12 favorites]
Granted, at nearly 39 years old, I'm not as young as I used to be. But Beverly Cleary has been over 60 for as long as I've been alive, so I think the "you are old" ball is way more in her court.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:33 AM on April 4, 2016 [12 favorites]
lefty lucky cat: "One of the things I miss about reading books as a child is having no awareness (or even interest) about when the books were written, or the time period they were set in. I read hundreds of books as a kid that were written in the 50s, 60s, and sometimes earlier... with no realization at all they weren't supposed to be contemporary to me. I read all the Gordon Korman books that were available in junior high, and this article is a revelation to me... some of them were written in the seventies?!?!"
Yeah, the computer plot in The War With Mr Wizzle was hit pretty hard by this. Actually, I think time has kind of negatively impacted a lot of the B&B plots - B&B could just text/IM/email Diane and Cathy, rather than risking getting caught by sneaking over to Scrimmage's all the time.
I still think they hold up great, and heck, my kids like the Henry Reed books from the late 50s. But I do think technology is starting to date them a bit.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:34 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Yeah, the computer plot in The War With Mr Wizzle was hit pretty hard by this. Actually, I think time has kind of negatively impacted a lot of the B&B plots - B&B could just text/IM/email Diane and Cathy, rather than risking getting caught by sneaking over to Scrimmage's all the time.
I still think they hold up great, and heck, my kids like the Henry Reed books from the late 50s. But I do think technology is starting to date them a bit.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:34 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
But I do think technology is starting to date them a bit.
Good old Wilbur Hackenschleimer.
posted by infinitewindow at 8:40 AM on April 4, 2016 [11 favorites]
Good old Wilbur Hacken
posted by infinitewindow at 8:40 AM on April 4, 2016 [11 favorites]
I have to find a way to see this movie. Korman might be my favorite living humor writer. I went the Book Expo America a couple years ago just to meet him. I can still reread A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag and many of the others to get genuine smiles. I could never get into his newer books that were more adventure themed though.
Adams, Jerome, Wodehouse, Pratchett. I need more living humor writers.
posted by Across the pale parabola of joy at 8:48 AM on April 4, 2016
Adams, Jerome, Wodehouse, Pratchett. I need more living humor writers.
posted by Across the pale parabola of joy at 8:48 AM on April 4, 2016
Holy crap. I loved this series as a kid. Used to read the books between classes in fifth grade and laugh my head off. Got some really puzzled looks from classmates and teachers, let me tell you.
I really hope the movie is good.
posted by anthy at 8:55 AM on April 4, 2016
I really hope the movie is good.
posted by anthy at 8:55 AM on April 4, 2016
The Macdonald Hall books, though available electronically (where's the rest of the early stuff?), have been updated in suuuuuuuuper weird ways. It's better to just keep them set when they were, I think.
There is so much Bruno/Boots fanfiction. So much.
Also, presented without comment:
There is so much Bruno/Boots fanfiction. So much.
Also, presented without comment:
In 2010, Justin Trudeau appeared on a TV series on called Great Canadian Books in which notable Canadians talk about their favourite works (this is an actual program on Book Television, an actual channel). Guests generally choose classics from the CanLit canon by authors such as Michael Ondaatje, Margaret Laurence, or W.O. Mitchell. The future prime minister picked This Can’t Be Happening at Macdonald Hall.posted by jeather at 8:55 AM on April 4, 2016 [9 favorites]
That's interesting, because I always had that awareness but without a single shred of knowledge to put it in context.
I guess books, especially children's books, are able to encompass a much larger span of "now" to a kid than television, movies, or music? Visual mediums have more readily apparent markers of their eras of production, but as a kid, whatever books left unsaid (or did spell out but I had no reference for so I just ignored the reference, such as the common scenario of books set during World War II) I would fill in myself with contemporary references. Harder to do that with a TV show.
I guess at some point these things become insurmountable to current kids... as you note, anything involving computers, the lack of cell phones, or the Internet is going to be pretty firmly seated in the past vs. the present. Maybe the eighties was a sweet spot for fans of kid's lit, as books stretching back even fifty years could still read as contemporary. Of course that is discounting the awesome power that I once had of simply ignoring aspects of a story I didn't understand... no reason kids today can't do that, if the story is compelling enough.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 8:56 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
I guess books, especially children's books, are able to encompass a much larger span of "now" to a kid than television, movies, or music? Visual mediums have more readily apparent markers of their eras of production, but as a kid, whatever books left unsaid (or did spell out but I had no reference for so I just ignored the reference, such as the common scenario of books set during World War II) I would fill in myself with contemporary references. Harder to do that with a TV show.
I guess at some point these things become insurmountable to current kids... as you note, anything involving computers, the lack of cell phones, or the Internet is going to be pretty firmly seated in the past vs. the present. Maybe the eighties was a sweet spot for fans of kid's lit, as books stretching back even fifty years could still read as contemporary. Of course that is discounting the awesome power that I once had of simply ignoring aspects of a story I didn't understand... no reason kids today can't do that, if the story is compelling enough.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 8:56 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
I still will shout "ZICTORY!" upon a successful outcome. No one else knows why.
posted by Scattercat at 8:57 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Scattercat at 8:57 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Also, there's some darn good MacDonald Hall fan fiction out there, if you know where to look and are ok with slash. People write it every year for Yuletide.
Also, that pic in the article is pretty close to how I imagined that Bruno and Boots looked, if a bit older. The Fish, too. Might be a good sign??
Also, "No Coins, Please" movie next, plz?
...I'm going to go actually read the article, now.
posted by anthy at 9:02 AM on April 4, 2016
Also, that pic in the article is pretty close to how I imagined that Bruno and Boots looked, if a bit older. The Fish, too. Might be a good sign??
Also, "No Coins, Please" movie next, plz?
...I'm going to go actually read the article, now.
posted by anthy at 9:02 AM on April 4, 2016
I love how many other people loved 'No Coins, Please', though I am surprised at the lack of love for 'Our Man Weston'. Maybe I just remember it extra-fondly.
posted by jeather at 9:06 AM on April 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by jeather at 9:06 AM on April 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
this kid who was writing my favorite novels when he was 14-25
how is it possible that I did not know this
posted by Gerald Bostock at 9:10 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
how is it possible that I did not know this
posted by Gerald Bostock at 9:10 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh man, Bugs Potter Live at Nickaninny was a masterpiece
Man, I don't know how many times I read that book on family camping trips. So, so true.
Korman, from the article: “I’m fifty-two years old, and if you ask me about what’s going on in my career, one of the newest things is the fact that they’re doing a TV show based on my seventh-grade English assignment,” he told me. “The idea that at this point in my life Bruno and Boots are still a factor is pretty wild.”
That is kind of bananas.
Vexological question: are we going to find out what the flag of Malbonia looks like?
Speaking for myself, though...I don't want to see any on-screen treatments of Gordon Korman books, for purely selfish reasons: I treasure the whole Macdonald Hall universe visualization I built in my head many years ago, and would like to keep it intact.
I love how many other people loved 'No Coins, Please', though I am surprised at the lack of love for 'Our Man Weston'.
I love both!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:12 AM on April 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
Man, I don't know how many times I read that book on family camping trips. So, so true.
Korman, from the article: “I’m fifty-two years old, and if you ask me about what’s going on in my career, one of the newest things is the fact that they’re doing a TV show based on my seventh-grade English assignment,” he told me. “The idea that at this point in my life Bruno and Boots are still a factor is pretty wild.”
That is kind of bananas.
Vexological question: are we going to find out what the flag of Malbonia looks like?
Speaking for myself, though...I don't want to see any on-screen treatments of Gordon Korman books, for purely selfish reasons: I treasure the whole Macdonald Hall universe visualization I built in my head many years ago, and would like to keep it intact.
I love how many other people loved 'No Coins, Please', though I am surprised at the lack of love for 'Our Man Weston'.
I love both!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:12 AM on April 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
There probably aren't many things I've laughed at as hard as I laughed at some of Korman's books when I was a kid, but I haven't revisited them since then. A lot of the things I liked at that age got a visit from the Suck Fairy during the intervening years, so I'm glad to hear they apparently still hold up pretty well.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:14 AM on April 4, 2016
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:14 AM on April 4, 2016
Henry Reed books from the late 50s
Oh man. I found these in a stack at my Grandma's house one summer when I was a kid, 1980-or-90-something, and read them all in an afternoon or two. I don't know exactly what it was that was so appealing about them, but that memory remains one of the happiest of my childhood.
Here's hoping they remain too obscure to attract the baleful gaze of Hollywood.
posted by brennen at 9:15 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Oh man. I found these in a stack at my Grandma's house one summer when I was a kid, 1980-or-90-something, and read them all in an afternoon or two. I don't know exactly what it was that was so appealing about them, but that memory remains one of the happiest of my childhood.
Here's hoping they remain too obscure to attract the baleful gaze of Hollywood.
posted by brennen at 9:15 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Korman's Twitter response to a question about what Bugs Potter universe band name is his favourite:
There may be funnier ones, but Endomorph will always be my first love.
I concur.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:16 AM on April 4, 2016
There may be funnier ones, but Endomorph will always be my first love.
I concur.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:16 AM on April 4, 2016
I mentioned this in another thread recently, but I find No Coins, Please just okay. Artie's schemes are great, but the counselors kind of come off as jerks. I like I Want To Go Home much better.
"MILLLLLERRRR!!!!"
posted by Chrysostom at 9:23 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
"MILLLLLERRRR!!!!"
posted by Chrysostom at 9:23 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
"It's French, Chip. It means dirt."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:23 AM on April 4, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:23 AM on April 4, 2016 [11 favorites]
I know the author of this article; he's a lot younger than I am so it was really neat to see that these books that I loved as a kid have kept on entertaining people ever since. They were so memorable... 'No Coins, Please' was definitely a favourite, but I also loved 'I Want to Go Home' and 'Who is Bugs Potter'.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 9:30 AM on April 4, 2016
posted by sevenyearlurk at 9:30 AM on April 4, 2016
Now I'm going to have to read these. I grew up on Tom Swift and Danny Dunn.
posted by boilermonster at 9:33 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by boilermonster at 9:33 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
"Chip! Chip!"
"So much for bird calls, what's your name?"
posted by redsparkler at 9:41 AM on April 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
"So much for bird calls, what's your name?"
posted by redsparkler at 9:41 AM on April 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
I mentioned this in another thread recently, but I find No Coins, Please just okay.
Wait, there was ANOTHER Gordon Korman thread? I love this place.
posted by redsparkler at 9:41 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Wait, there was ANOTHER Gordon Korman thread? I love this place.
posted by redsparkler at 9:41 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
OK, actual real question after reading the article. Article says that the movie based on "Go Jump in the Pool" aired on April 1st (which is very fitting, btw) on YTV in Canada. What's the best way to watch it, if you're in the US? Are streams and torrents the only answer? Or is this likely to be re-aired on Nickelodeon, or released on DVD/Blu-ray?
posted by anthy at 9:57 AM on April 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by anthy at 9:57 AM on April 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
boilermonster: "Now I'm going to have to read these. I grew up on Tom Swift and Danny Dunn."
Danny Dunn was great! At least in my memory.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:59 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Danny Dunn was great! At least in my memory.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:59 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
I will always love Gordon Korman for his absolute mastery of the beautiful art of the straight man / funny guy comedy setup. Who Is Bugs Potter? is basically the pinnacle of the form.
posted by 4th number at 10:05 AM on April 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by 4th number at 10:05 AM on April 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
I read I Want to Go Home probably dozens of times as a kid. It deeply informed my sense of sarcasm, cynicism, and dry wit. I didn't even know the author had written other books--I'm sure I would have devoured them.
posted by dephlogisticated at 10:06 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by dephlogisticated at 10:06 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
And for everyone else for whom Bugs Potter fanfic wasn't enough, that delightful synergy of low-stakes crime and band nerds, may I recommend the Sizzle and Splat series by Ronald Kidd?
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 10:21 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 10:21 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Aw, man, I had almost completely forgotten about the absolute thrill of finding a new Gordon Korman at the library, but I have just had a full-color, kinesthetic revisit of the joyful moment I found The War with Mr. Wizzle in the "new books" stacks. My small-town library being what it was, I don't think I even read all the ones that were available from 1982-1986 but I really loved the ones I could get my hands on. I think I left the Kormansphere just after Son of Interflux, which was published when I was 14.
It makes me so happy that he seems like a well-adjusted dude who is totally cool with making a career writing for tweens.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 10:26 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
It makes me so happy that he seems like a well-adjusted dude who is totally cool with making a career writing for tweens.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 10:26 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I looked up another childhood author, Martyn Godfrey of the Ms. Teeny-Wonderful series, only to find out he died in 2000 of liver disease.
posted by reiichiroh at 10:29 AM on April 4, 2016
posted by reiichiroh at 10:29 AM on April 4, 2016
In other "you are old" news, Beverly Cleary is turning 100.
Granted, at nearly 39 years old, I'm not as young as I used to be. But Beverly Cleary has been over 60 for as long as I've been alive, so I think the "you are old" ball is way more in her court.
Beverly Cleary is EXACTLY 50 years older (to the day) than my spouse, who is currently trying to break into the children's literature market. We feel a bond, and have awaited her 100th birthday with fondness.
posted by dlugoczaj at 10:35 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Granted, at nearly 39 years old, I'm not as young as I used to be. But Beverly Cleary has been over 60 for as long as I've been alive, so I think the "you are old" ball is way more in her court.
Beverly Cleary is EXACTLY 50 years older (to the day) than my spouse, who is currently trying to break into the children's literature market. We feel a bond, and have awaited her 100th birthday with fondness.
posted by dlugoczaj at 10:35 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Gordon Korman is one of the great Canadian literary treasures, a Stephan Leacock for young adults. Korman came to one of the schools I attended in Toronto to give us a reading from one of his books, probably somewhere between 1986 to 1988, I think it was one of the Macdonald Hall books. My main memory of that event, I remember thinking that he looked so old at the time - checking the dates he's only 10 years older than me! Funny how that works when your a kid.
With all the reboots and reimaginings that are popular in the current media, I find it interesting that a lot of my Canadian pop culture nostalgia is largely unsullied by reboots, remakes or movies - Adventures in Rainbow Country, Beachcombers, Hilarious House of Frightenstein, Mr. Dressup, Friendly Giant, Seeing Things, King of Kensington, that science show Bob Macdonald used to have, all that 70's & 80's TVO programming, my beloved Edison Twins...
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:43 AM on April 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
With all the reboots and reimaginings that are popular in the current media, I find it interesting that a lot of my Canadian pop culture nostalgia is largely unsullied by reboots, remakes or movies - Adventures in Rainbow Country, Beachcombers, Hilarious House of Frightenstein, Mr. Dressup, Friendly Giant, Seeing Things, King of Kensington, that science show Bob Macdonald used to have, all that 70's & 80's TVO programming, my beloved Edison Twins...
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:43 AM on April 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
And who can forget Korman's most memorable character, G. Gavin Gunhold?
posted by redsparkler at 10:53 AM on April 4, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by redsparkler at 10:53 AM on April 4, 2016 [8 favorites]
Oh, I had a monster crush on Marnie McPhail from The Edison Twins.
posted by infinitewindow at 10:53 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by infinitewindow at 10:53 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I will totally try to see this movie!
One of the joys of parenthood was re-reading all these books as I handed them to my son.
As an adult I appreciate that these stories with male lead characters had the badass girls from Miss Scrimmage's Finishing School for Young Ladies. Cathy Burton; what a role model!
Also, I discovered new Gordon Korman that had been written after I grew up, and thoroughly enjoyed Radio Fifth Grade when my son read it. The kids' who's behavior is modified by sitting in desks where the floor is slightly lower, which the kids dub "the pit" is genius.
posted by chapps at 11:05 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
One of the joys of parenthood was re-reading all these books as I handed them to my son.
As an adult I appreciate that these stories with male lead characters had the badass girls from Miss Scrimmage's Finishing School for Young Ladies. Cathy Burton; what a role model!
Also, I discovered new Gordon Korman that had been written after I grew up, and thoroughly enjoyed Radio Fifth Grade when my son read it. The kids' who's behavior is modified by sitting in desks where the floor is slightly lower, which the kids dub "the pit" is genius.
posted by chapps at 11:05 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
OMG I TOTALLY FORGOT THE EDISON TWINS.
Bruno and Boots are still kind of bitter sweet for me, because I went to a boarding school and it wasnt v fun. But the books are amazing
posted by PinkMoose at 11:08 AM on April 4, 2016
Bruno and Boots are still kind of bitter sweet for me, because I went to a boarding school and it wasnt v fun. But the books are amazing
posted by PinkMoose at 11:08 AM on April 4, 2016
Oh man, Cathy Burton is the best.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:19 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 11:19 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
PinkMoose, It's been a while since I read any Korman fic, but I still reread Calathea's every so often. She's written some Macdonald Hall, but I especially loved her I Want to Go Home! Rudy/Mike fics. The fic where Rudy and Mike return to Camp Algonkian Island as counselors while Rudy stoically pines for Mike and Mike is sweetly oblivious is everything I ever wanted, basically.
posted by yasaman at 11:20 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by yasaman at 11:20 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
also, can i get a link to some of the slash
posted by PinkMoose at 2:09 PM on April 4
I have AO3 bookmarks! I will link you to a couple of favorites.
posted by anthy at 11:34 AM on April 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by PinkMoose at 2:09 PM on April 4
I have AO3 bookmarks! I will link you to a couple of favorites.
- Macdonald Hall is Fabulous - A very odd look had come over Bruno's face, and before Pete spoke he'd been staring at his sneakers like he'd never seen them before. His head came up at once. "Of course it's not the end," he said briskly. "The Committee for the Preservation of Boots O'Neal's Well-Being has been renamed as the Get-Boots-a-Girlfriend Foundation. Gentlemen, we have a new purpose. Find out who Boots likes and make her fall madly in love with him."
"Why can't Boots handle his own love life?" Wilbur asked.
"Because he deserves to be happy!" Bruno looked every bit as grim as he had when Macdonald Hall was threatened with bankruptcy or Mr. Wizzle. "And we're going to make it happen, even if it kills us." - Listening Lessons - The note, in Diane's neat handwriting, says For your Walkman - not to be shared with ANYONE, and we will know, Walton, and there are three sleek black tapes enclosed with it. Boots laughs when he sees it.
posted by anthy at 11:34 AM on April 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
On Registration Day at Taxidermy School
I distinctly saw the eyes of the stuffed moose
Move.
posted by infinitewindow at 11:44 AM on April 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
I distinctly saw the eyes of the stuffed moose
Move.
posted by infinitewindow at 11:44 AM on April 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
There's this one:
"Sidney Rampulsky met his wife while he was in traction in Yorkton, Saskatchewan"
Or this one:
"No one cares that Boots and Bruno are dating, but somehow there are shotguns and committees and late night riots anyway."
That last description caused me to do a literal spit take.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:58 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
"Sidney Rampulsky met his wife while he was in traction in Yorkton, Saskatchewan"
Or this one:
"No one cares that Boots and Bruno are dating, but somehow there are shotguns and committees and late night riots anyway."
That last description caused me to do a literal spit take.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:58 AM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Oh god, I had totally forgotten about Bruno and Boots and now I have to leave work to hit the nearest used bookstore to scoop up any and all copies of whatever Gordon Korman books they have on hand okay byeeeeeee
posted by palomar at 12:12 PM on April 4, 2016
posted by palomar at 12:12 PM on April 4, 2016
Come on - The Committee was formally banned by the Fish. It must be a consortium or a congress or something.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:12 PM on April 4, 2016
posted by Chrysostom at 12:12 PM on April 4, 2016
Hmmm. Consortiums and congresses aren't specifically named in the new regulation that was drafted by the Fish in the wake of the Wizzle affair, but the rule was broadly written and consortiums and congresses would likely fall within its ambit:
Regulations prohibit the forming by students of committees, coalitions, associations, unions, organizations, clubs, syndicates, conference, brotherhoods, interest groups, lobbies, societies, commissions and task forces, or any other group activity of this nature, without strict supervision and approval by staff.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:41 PM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Regulations prohibit the forming by students of committees, coalitions, associations, unions, organizations, clubs, syndicates, conference, brotherhoods, interest groups, lobbies, societies, commissions and task forces, or any other group activity of this nature, without strict supervision and approval by staff.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:41 PM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yes, I was thinking of that passage, but didn't have it to hand.
I feel like Mr. Sturgeon is a role you really have to get right to make this movie work.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:47 PM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I feel like Mr. Sturgeon is a role you really have to get right to make this movie work.
posted by Chrysostom at 12:47 PM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Heh. My kids never got into him but I've got a box of fan replies in my garage somewhere.
posted by tilde at 3:12 PM on April 4, 2016
posted by tilde at 3:12 PM on April 4, 2016
And dammit, beaten to Gavin!
From memory so probably wrong: "The life span of a fruit fly is only three weeks. They probably don't make caps and gowns in that size anyway."
posted by tilde at 3:16 PM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
From memory so probably wrong: "The life span of a fruit fly is only three weeks. They probably don't make caps and gowns in that size anyway."
posted by tilde at 3:16 PM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Before today, I had no idea how much I needed Gordon Korman slash fanfic in my life.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 3:20 PM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by sevenyearlurk at 3:20 PM on April 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Crikey! 80 books! I've got a lot of catching up to do. I think the last books I read were Son of the Mob and I tried one of those publisher brand series.
posted by tilde at 3:27 PM on April 4, 2016
posted by tilde at 3:27 PM on April 4, 2016
Who is Bugs Potter is my favorite of all of these. I read it about 30x when I was a kid.
posted by cell divide at 3:33 PM on April 4, 2016
posted by cell divide at 3:33 PM on April 4, 2016
Until today it never occurred to me that there is fanfic or slash based on Korman characters. It makes perfect sense, of course. It just never crossed my mind.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:01 PM on April 4, 2016
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:01 PM on April 4, 2016
I think I would have completely forgotten Korman years ago if it weren't for Bugs Potter. As a drummer who spends too much time wandering around in the woods, barely a day has gone by where I haven't looked at a stump and wondered which part of my kit it would be.
I found a copy of Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag on a little library shelf a couple summers ago and it was, to my surprise, even better than I remembered it. Gonna have to start scanning every used book store I enter for a copy of No Coins, Please now. Looks like there's a torrent of all the Macdonald Hall books in epub form, but I can't find NC,P anywhere.
posted by mannequito at 4:52 PM on April 4, 2016
I found a copy of Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag on a little library shelf a couple summers ago and it was, to my surprise, even better than I remembered it. Gonna have to start scanning every used book store I enter for a copy of No Coins, Please now. Looks like there's a torrent of all the Macdonald Hall books in epub form, but I can't find NC,P anywhere.
posted by mannequito at 4:52 PM on April 4, 2016
Gordon Korman must have been a touring machine in the 1980s. He came to my local public library when I was about 12, and I was SO FREAKING EXCITED to meet him and have him sign my books.
ivan ivanych samovar: And for everyone else for whom Bugs Potter fanfic wasn't enough, that delightful synergy of low-stakes crime and band nerds, may I recommend the Sizzle and Splat series by Ronald Kidd?
SERIES?? There was more than one?? Why didn't I know this when they were age-appropriate...
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:59 PM on April 4, 2016
ivan ivanych samovar: And for everyone else for whom Bugs Potter fanfic wasn't enough, that delightful synergy of low-stakes crime and band nerds, may I recommend the Sizzle and Splat series by Ronald Kidd?
SERIES?? There was more than one?? Why didn't I know this when they were age-appropriate...
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:59 PM on April 4, 2016
Who could forget Miss Scrimmage and her shotgun alteration of her school's sign into, "Miss Scrimmage's Fishing School for Young Ladies"?
posted by orange swan at 5:43 PM on April 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by orange swan at 5:43 PM on April 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
brennen: " I don't know exactly what it was that was so appealing about them, but that memory remains one of the happiest of my childhood."
He gets in amusing, if low stakes, scrapes. The main selling point is sidekick Midge, who is a great female character for the era, and frankly pretty darned good now.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:07 PM on April 4, 2016
He gets in amusing, if low stakes, scrapes. The main selling point is sidekick Midge, who is a great female character for the era, and frankly pretty darned good now.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:07 PM on April 4, 2016
THIS THREAD IS MAKING ME SO HAPPY I DID NOT KNOW ANYONE ELSE IRL WHO EVER READ THESE BOOKS. (And that photo in the article! I know the "Bruno 'n Boots formula" (i.e. crazy die hard dude with crazy ideas and his more levelheaded sidekick who joins in the crazy) was so formulaic and I loved every which way he did it in his books. And god, I loved the salete. Here is a picture of one. Oh, and G. Gavin Gunhold and how he got around! Bugs and his drumsticks, Artie and his moneymaking schemes (I always remember how hard it is to milk cows from that book), Rudy and his skill at everything, Chocolate Memory, Theamelpos, SACGEN, Beware the Fish, Manchurian bush hamsters, The Line Of Scrimmage and "The riot squad is afraid to come back here!," and "There are a lot of things at this school I don't understand."
(I have never even seen a copy of Nickapinny, dammit. Barely heard it existed. Also whatever the last MacDonald Hall was after the movie one.)
For the record about his new stuff: I read Son of the Mob 2 (eh....) and Born to Rock, I'd recommend the latter one because it's what happens when a Young Republican is told he's the product of a one night stand with an Alice Cooper/Gene SImmons-esque rocker called King Maggot and then goes on tour with him. Surprisingly touching.
On a related note, a series I read in high school recently got reprinted with "updated" text. It was called "Boyfriends Girlfriends" (generic title) and featured eight teenagers who live on an island in Maine and the snark was excellent. It came out over the summer, rebranded as "The Islanders" (much more appropriate), and the funny thing was that the books stayed the same except for the pop culture references were changed to people like in One Direction and Karlie Kloss. NO mentions of social media whatsoever, though one could attempt to fanwank that on an island you don't really need that shit/maybe don't get cell reception. According to the Internet, the original author/s only wrote the eight books I read and then quit writing it and they'd carried on the series with some ghostwriter for yonks on end...and to be honest, didn't sound like it was great. Maybe it's a good thing I missed those. I suspect this series sunk like a stone in the reissues since they disappeared from stores mighty quickly.
Unfortunately, social media has eaten everything in the world, which makes me wonder how actually feasible updating series are at this point. Especially poor Mr. Wizzle and his computer paper.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:22 PM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
(I have never even seen a copy of Nickapinny, dammit. Barely heard it existed. Also whatever the last MacDonald Hall was after the movie one.)
For the record about his new stuff: I read Son of the Mob 2 (eh....) and Born to Rock, I'd recommend the latter one because it's what happens when a Young Republican is told he's the product of a one night stand with an Alice Cooper/Gene SImmons-esque rocker called King Maggot and then goes on tour with him. Surprisingly touching.
On a related note, a series I read in high school recently got reprinted with "updated" text. It was called "Boyfriends Girlfriends" (generic title) and featured eight teenagers who live on an island in Maine and the snark was excellent. It came out over the summer, rebranded as "The Islanders" (much more appropriate), and the funny thing was that the books stayed the same except for the pop culture references were changed to people like in One Direction and Karlie Kloss. NO mentions of social media whatsoever, though one could attempt to fanwank that on an island you don't really need that shit/maybe don't get cell reception. According to the Internet, the original author/s only wrote the eight books I read and then quit writing it and they'd carried on the series with some ghostwriter for yonks on end...and to be honest, didn't sound like it was great. Maybe it's a good thing I missed those. I suspect this series sunk like a stone in the reissues since they disappeared from stores mighty quickly.
Unfortunately, social media has eaten everything in the world, which makes me wonder how actually feasible updating series are at this point. Especially poor Mr. Wizzle and his computer paper.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:22 PM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Rootbeer, the huge guy who ends up living with the triad in Losing Joe's Place, has in his giant poncho a diploma issued to G. Gavin Gunhold, IIRC. (Interestingly Losing Joe's Place has one friend playing straight man and two weird friends!) (Also The Twinkie Squad is amazing for how neither of the friend pair are really normal straight arrows (e.g., Armando's world politics obsession).)
Also, the science fiction novel a friend of Simon's is writing in Son of Interflux includes the time of Niknar Tap and the star Ecrineb -- backwards, Bernice is (I think) Gordon Korman's mom's name, and I think Pat Rankin is someone else in Korman's life, maybe his agent?
Jake, Reinvented is Korman's retelling of The Great Gatsby in a high school setting, and includes a "hovercraft full of eels" reference. It's good! And Pop made me cry.
I also wrote fan letters to Korman and got replies back. I need to go to a reading someday.
posted by brainwane at 7:56 AM on April 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Also, the science fiction novel a friend of Simon's is writing in Son of Interflux includes the time of Niknar Tap and the star Ecrineb -- backwards, Bernice is (I think) Gordon Korman's mom's name, and I think Pat Rankin is someone else in Korman's life, maybe his agent?
Jake, Reinvented is Korman's retelling of The Great Gatsby in a high school setting, and includes a "hovercraft full of eels" reference. It's good! And Pop made me cry.
I also wrote fan letters to Korman and got replies back. I need to go to a reading someday.
posted by brainwane at 7:56 AM on April 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
Also, I remember reading The Twinkie Squad, and seeing Armando realize why Doug has made the specific lifestyle choice he's made, why he's been writing what he has been writing in that sacred yellow binder. It was the first time I ever saw that kind of understanding of that choice within a fictional work. Hit me right between the eyes.
posted by brainwane at 8:01 AM on April 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by brainwane at 8:01 AM on April 5, 2016 [1 favorite]
And who can forget Korman's most memorable character, G. Gavin Gunhold?
posted by redsparkler at 1:53 PM
Rootbeer is GGG and so is Gramps. And so are all of us.
/canon
posted by tilde at 8:39 AM on April 5, 2016
posted by redsparkler at 1:53 PM
Rootbeer is GGG and so is Gramps. And so are all of us.
/canon
posted by tilde at 8:39 AM on April 5, 2016
Ha! My homeroom had a kid on the attendance sheet who never showed, guess he moved. We said "here" every day, and our teacher (I'm sure he knew of course) always marked him present.
My friends and I on the newspaper and yearbook committee made sure he was featured occasionally as an award winner or honour roll member. I think he even had a short feature article at some point.
posted by chapps at 4:34 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
My friends and I on the newspaper and yearbook committee made sure he was featured occasionally as an award winner or honour roll member. I think he even had a short feature article at some point.
posted by chapps at 4:34 PM on April 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
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*starts rubbing hands together gleefully at the prospect of the rest of this article*
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:55 AM on April 4, 2016 [1 favorite]